TECH CENTRAL

First of Two Parts

Articles — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

We are in a Crisis of Process. OK, I have written more exciting lead sentences than that -- everybody has. However, I will keep those words as they are, because they make an important, even life-saving point.

I will argue, in this two-part series, that problems of process inside the federal government are threatening not only our national well-being, but also our national security. And I will offer some solutions put forth by Bob Walker, who capped his 10 terms in Congress as chairman of the House Science Committee and member of the Republican… more

Holy Roman Empire USA

Articles — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0500

The Liberal-Left Establishment has never liked suburbia and exurbia, which are dismissed as "sprawl." And we know what the Liberal Left thinks of the Catholic Church. So what do you suppose Liberal Lefties think about a plan for a Catholic exurb? Talk about a bad twofer, in their eyes. Even worse, the new town of Ave Maria, Florida is being bankrolled by Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, the leading conservative Catholic philanthropist in the world. Yikes! No wonder it's so easy for the mainstream media to descend into name-calling -- The Times of London has mocked him as "the… more

Kennan's Comeback

Articles — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Sixty years ago, on February 22, America faced a difficult geopolitical situation. We had just won World War II against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, but the smoke had barely cleared from those conflicts when we realized that a new enemy loomed dead ahead: Soviet Russia. Confronted by an increasingly ominous Stalinist threat, Americans, who had been hoping for peace, found themselves preparing yet again for war. And so it is today. We won in Iraq, but now we must face Iran.

And yet that coming confrontation with Tehran is likely to produce a new alignment of forces in… more

Five Blunders, One Terrorist State

Articles — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. and Israeli policies toward the Palestinians and their new elected leaders, Hamas, represent a five-fold error. That's a lot of mistakes to make about such an important topic and region -- Israel and America will have to do better. But for now, we can simply note each blunder in hopes that corrections are being put in place.

First, the Israeli intelligence services, so vaunted, had assured one and all, there and here, that Hamas could not get more than 30 percent of the vote. And the far less vaunted American intelligence services, agreed with the Israelis.… more

How Many Divisions Has the Caliph?

Articles — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Should the Caliphate be reunited? It depends on whom you ask. Osama Bin Laden is for such a reunification of all Muslims, which is surely enough to persuade most Americans to oppose it.

But could the Caliphate be reunited? That seems to be a somewhat increasing prospect. Right now, to be sure, it's a cloud on the horizon no bigger than a fist, but some important people are alarmed enough about the possibility to take time to denounce it. That's right, some big people--as big as George W. Bush. Last October, in making his case on Iraq, the President… more

Politics Makes For Bad Movies; Bad Movies Make For Worse

Articles — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Aristotle believed that art imitates life. Oscar Wilde responded that, no, life imitates art. I offer two modest corollaries: First, politics makes for bad art, especially bad movies. And second, bad movies make for worse politics--and tragically bad medical politics in particular.

Unlike Ari and Oscar, I don't expect to be immortalized for my aesthetic observations. However, I do hope to make a point what's relevant to today's medical arena--which is to say, relevant to the life and death of billions of people. My point is, what might be called the "Constant Gardenerization" of international politics is going to retard… more

Movie Magic: Metapolitics vs. Message Politics

Articles — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0500

"If you want to send a message, call Western Union." That's an old joke in Hollywood, dating back to the days when Western Union was a big deal. The idea is that the movies should be about making money, not making political or social points.

The old chestnut is being proven again in this Christmas season. Currently, the two movies duking it out for tops at the box office are avowedly apolitical: The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong.

By contrast, the overtly political films have done poorly. The Chomskyite Syriana isn't doing much, and neither did the p.c.-preachy… more

A Permanent Deathstyle

Articles — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Here's the formula for the AIDS epidemic: First, start with a deadly contagious virus. Second, take no serious measures as dangerous behavior patterns multiply. Third, ignore the obvious lessons of epidemiological and medical history -- try demagoguery instead. Fourth, apply copious amounts of sentiment and red-ribbon artistry to the issue, substituting, in effect, sentiment for science. Fifth, stand back and watch tens of millions of people die.

Repeat these five steps for as long as you wish. If you do so, you will find that AIDS is never cured, no matter how many press releases are issued, no matter how… more

Are Wives Necessary? Welcome to Hef's World

Articles — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Maureen Dowd is the most prominent female columnist in the U.S. today. And yet now she has made a disheartening discovery: Prominence in newspapers is not the same as pre-eminence in the bookstore. Of course, a well-read woman, such as Dowd, should have known that the Cassandra character is never popular--being right isn't being liked. And while there has been much bitchy "Dowdenfreude" about the relative failure of her new book, Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide, we should all understand that as the bell tolls for Dowd, it likely tolling for us as well--for America, for the West.

Dowd's… more

Truth and Doodie

Articles — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Welcome to the next installment of the continuing saga: Mary Mapes vs. the Blogs, in which, for good measure, she takes on reality, too. And at the same time, we can consider the rise, fall--and possible comeback--of Mapes as part of the ongoing power-struggle between the MSM (Main Stream Media) and the New Media (NM).

If you don't know that Mapes is the former CBS News producer who was the driving force behind the September 8, 2004 broadcast on "60 Minutes II," attacking George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard--which was immediately debunked by the Blogosphere, leading… more